Delaney: Cornell's Scelfo savoring his return to basketball

College basketball notes: Cornell's Scelfo savoring his return to basketball

The Brian Delaney Blog
ESPN 1160 Radio

October25, 2011

Dom Scelfo's emotions ran wild a couple of weeks ago when initial signs indicated he had seriously reinjured his knee during a pick-up game.

"We ended up getting an MRI, and they told me it was a certain kind of tear. They said it was called a 'Buckethandle Tear,'" Scelfo said. "I was (really upset). I went home (to Louisiana), and the doctor said no, that was the part he kind of snipped off last time. So it's supposed to be like that. I'm good to go. He said to ice it down, take some advil and I'm good to go."

Scelfo is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound sophomore point guard. He is still a rookie to the world of college basketball, yet a grizzled veteran of knee injury treatments and lengthy rehabilitations. In October of his senior year at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Scelfo tore the meniscus in his knee. He returned that winter and played for Jesuit, but he reinjured his knee during training camp last year at Cornell. He missed all of last season, and became known more for wearing a bowtie at the end of the bench than for his ability to play.

So that news from his hometown doctor a few weeks ago came as sweet, sweet relief.

"To thinking I'm out for the year or something like that, to being the happiest guy in the world," he said.

Scelfo came off the bench for the Red Team in Saturday's Red-White Scrimmage. The White team crushed Red, 76-41. But Scelfo was the second name out of coach Bill Courtney's mouth when asked which players helped themselves the most during the Scrimmage (the first was Scelfo's classmate, Dwight Tarwater).

"I thought Dom Scelfo looked very, very good off the bench for the Red Team," Courtney said.

Scelfo's game, when healthy, breaks down like this: tough with a very good handle, an unselfish nature, and a smooth shooting stroke (Chris Wroblewski comes to mind). The health part remains the hang-up. His meniscus history would will keep the coaching staff cautiously patient. First, Scelfo has to get back to trusting his knee fully again. Second, he is essentially a freshman. He needs the same time to adjust/learn from mistakes that true freshmen Galal Cancer, Devin Cherry, Ned Tomic, Shonn Miller, Dave LaMore and Deion Giddens will get this year. Third, Scelfo has to prove he can defend consistently at this level (a component directly related to the first point). It may very well prove a progression that spans more than one basketball season, if the guard can keep his knee healthy.

Scelfo essentially breaks down his meniscus sitation like this: "It's cartilage (damage). It's basically arthritis. It's bone on bone rubbing."

He's learning to deal with it. His perspective, after all that time missed, has matured.

"Last year, every time I saw the guys out here or even just playing pick-up, it made me just that much hungrier to get out there and just get into it," he said. "The past two years, I've been out (a lot). Now that I'm out here, I enjoy it a lot more. I'm a lot more thankful for it, just to be out here."

**

With a list of injured including up to four players who can play the "four" position for Cornell, freshman Ned Tomic was one of the players capable of playing a style resembling a post game.

He made several field goals inside, using his 6-foot-7, 240-pound frame to create space for himself. He's not going to score over athletic interior players, or even non-athletic taller interior players, but he is aggressive enough - and smart enough - to catch and shoot before the aforementioned defenders can react. Even so ... with Cornell's lack of depth and bulk inside, Tomic has an opportunity here to position himself for some early playing time.

"He was really good today," Courtney said after Saturday's scrimmage. "He's been good in practice, he's a space eater, he's something we don't have. His biggest challenge is getting in shape. That's the next step for him.

Can he be a contributor on opening night, Nov. 11 at St. Bonaventure?

"We'll see. It's hard to tell right now, and we're still a little bit ways away," Courtney said. "He still has to get in shape for a college guy. He's in game shape for a high school guy right now, but if a guy beats him up the floor and makes a layup, that's not going to make me very happy. He has to be in that kind of (college) shape to do that. But he's certainly capable of scoring the basketball, he's certainly capable of carving out space and rebounding."

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Secret Scrimmages Gone Public!

Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports has leaked Cornell's two secret scrimmages. Cornell hosts Lafayette on October 29 and then visits Siena on November 5. Below are some of the Ivy League scrimmages:

Saturday, Oct. 29
Fairfield at Brown
Lafayette at Cornell
Yale at NJIT

Sunday, Oct. 30
La Salle at Princeton

Sat., Nov. 5
Northeastern at Harvard
Cornell at Siena
Columbia at Hartford
Brown at BU
Stony Brook at Yale

Read more »

Secret Scrimmages Gone Public!

Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports has leaked Cornell's two secret scrimmages. Cornell hosts Lafayette on October 29 and then visits Siena on November 5. Below are some of the Ivy League scrimmages:

Saturday, Oct. 29
Fairfield at Brown
Lafayette at Cornell
Yale at NJIT

Sunday, Oct. 30
La Salle at Princeton

Sat., Nov. 5
Northeastern at Harvard
Cornell at Siena
Columbia at Hartford
Brown at BU
Stony Brook at Yale

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News and Notes: Tuesday Edition

Below, some news and notes...

• As one of the biggest universities in the country, Cornell basketball has traditionally "traveled well" with large alumni groups supporting the team at road games. This season is no exception as alumni groups such as The Cornell Club of Washington, D.C. make plans to support the Big Red. The D.C. Club will attend Cornell's road game at Maryland on January 3.
  

• Above, our Tweets of the Day from the weekend and into Tuesday in the world of Cornell Basketball on the twittersphere.

• Duke Basketball Report writes, "mid-majors have been less than adept lately at retaining their coaches in the face of ACC overtures. In a two-year span Cornell lost Steve Donahue to BC, Brad Brownell went from Wright State to Clemson, Dayton donated Brian Gregory to Georgia Tech, and Larranaga, 62, fulfilled a career goal of coaching in the ACC by moving to Miami."

• The Daily Pennsylvanian is calling for Penn Athletics to end the program's tired tradition of holding a "line" for ticket sales. Less than fifty people attended Penn's event this year and was described as follows, "[t]he scene Friday night at the Palestra was aptly described as an awkward birthday party for children — people standing around with not much to do."
  

• Previewing the ACC, the Bleacher Report notes of Steve Donahue and Boston College, "Second year head coach Steve Donahue will look to utilize his unconventional offense to aid the inexperienced Eagles, which look to open up space for three-point shooters. This was his approach at Cornell in 2009. But this Boston College team does not have the talent to compare with Donahue's best in Ithaca and will really struggle to find their way in the ACC this season."
  

• ESPN writes, "The college hoops blogosphere has a unique tradition, the kind of thing that makes you whimsically proud to be a college basketball blogger: Each year, a few sites -- notably Rush The Court, Ballin' Is A Habit, and Storming The Floor, among others -- comb through the thousands of college basketball players on new rosters in the interests of compiling a comprehensive list of the best names in the sport. This is the All-Name Team, and it is always fun. The first batch of 2011-12 names -- put together by Ballin' Is A Habit's Troy Machir -- is no different." The list includes two selected Cornellians to Habit's All-Name Teams. Freshman Galal Cancer was named an Honorable Mention for the nation's All-Name Team, while Dwight Tarwater was given special mention to the All-Awesome Last Name Team. Congrats to both Galal and Dwight.
  

• Basketball-stream.de interviewed Louis Dale (Cornell '11). Below is the complete Q&A:

Louis Dale is currently playing for Gottingen in the BBL in Germany. This is his second professional season and second season here in Germany as well. He is off to a great start this season by averaging 13.8 points and 2.6 assist. He is also shooting close to 95 percent from the free throw line as well. Thank you for doing the interview and good luck next week against Giessen.

1. If I`m not mistaking you grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, what was it like growing up in the south and what could we find you doing as a youngster?

I loved growing up in the south because of the weather, and I think it is a more relaxed atmosphere. When I was a kid, you could find me in the gym or playing video games with my friends (Madden is my favorite).

2. Who were some of your role models growing up and do you have any siblings as well?

My parents were my role models; they made it easy for me to see how I needed to behave in order to make it somewhere. I have two older sisters who are both married now.

3. Did you play any other sports growing up or in high school?

I started playing sports when I was 8 years old. I played soccer, basketball, and baseball until high school. I started to focus on basketball once I got to high school, but I also did the triple jump and high jump in track and field when basketball season was over.

4. You took your game to the Ivy League at Cornell University, what other schools were you interested in and what made you chose Cornell?

I wanted to play in the ACC so bad but I had zero interest from any of those schools so I made a highlight tape and sent it to various schools across the country. It was my mom’s idea to send it to Cornell and they were pretty much the only school to get back to me, so my college decision was easy from there.

5. Was it tough to separate your athletics and academics going to such a prestigious school known more for there education?

I think the first semester of freshmen year was the hardest to balance the academics and athletics. It is just one of those things you have to figure out what works best for you when you can get both things done. Our coaches were also great about giving us time if we needed it to get some academic work done.

6. What are some of your best memories about going to school at Cornell?

My best memory is making it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament my senior year. My teammates were some of my best friends so that was really great to achieve that level of success with great friends.

7. You came to Germany last season and played for Gottingen what was the biggest challenge taking your game from college to the BBL here in Germany?

I think the biggest challenge is adjusting to being a professional. Realizing that you are no longer in college and that things are different and you must take on more responsibility as an individual is a big difference for guys coming out of school.

8. You also got a chance to play in the Eurocup as well.. what was that experience like and being able to see different countries and getting to see different styles of basketball played by different leagues?

Playing Eurocup was a great experience. The different styles of play really gives you a chance to become a student of the game and formulate the best strategy to give your team the best chance to win. Not only that, but you get to play against some good players who are not in the German league.

9. On an off day what could we find you doing in Gottingen?

On an off day I really try to talk to my family from back home, and I watch a ton of tv shows…I really like Boardwalk Empire and Dexter right now. Also, I’ll try to learn some more german.

10. What is on continious play on your ipod and what type of music do you like?

J. Cole is always on my ipod…I like everything but I mainly listen to hip hop.

• The brand new blog, Ivy Hoops Online, previews Yale and writes, "The 2007-2008 Yale squad was coming off a surprising 10-4 season the year before... Things were looking up for Yale, and with Princeton down and Penn losing [Mark] Zoller and [Ibrahim] Jaaber, there was an opening for a program that was not traditionally a powerhouse to step up and take control of the conference. That program was… Cornell...[In 2011-2012] [w]ill they be able to avoid the pitfalls of the 14-game tournament without dropping a game to team in the bottom half like they did to sharpshooting Cornell[?]"
  

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NBA Dwight Howard Bought

NBA Dwight Howard bought

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News and Notes: Monday Edition

Above, assistant coach Marlon Sears tutors freshman Galal Cancer during Saturday's Red-White Game. Below, assistant coach Mike Blaine does the same with freshman Deion Giddens.

Below, some news and notes...

• Eagle in Atlanta writes of Boston College freshman Dennis Clifford, "Steve Donahue said that when he first saw Dennis Clifford, he thought to himself: 'he could be a really good Ivy League player.' When you are the coach at Cornell that's a great endorsement. When you are the coach at BC, that's the ultimate backhanded compliment."

• In reference to Steve Donahue's class of 2006 at Cornell, the Duke Basketball Report writes that Donahue, "assembled a huge class that ended up dominating the Ivy League for two seasons. " Of course, the class of 2006 from Cornell won three consecutive Ivy League titles during their sophomore through senior years. They also appeared in five NCAA Tournament games.
  

• WVBR posts an evaluation from the Red-White Game on Saturday. WVBR writes:

5 Quick Reactions to the Red/White Basketball Scrimmage

The Cornell Men's Basketball team tipped off in front of the public for the first time today with the annual intrasquad Red/White scrimmage. The result? A pretty enlightening game that showed just how much the Red will be relying on senior leaders Chris Wroblewski and Drew Ferry to carry the team this year. Together, the two led the White Team to a 76-41 thrashing of the Red Team. Scoring aside, let's take a look at this observer's top 5 reactions and thoughts following the game.

1. Style: Some things never seem to change for the Big Red and Courtney's teams certainly came out with a style that seems all too familiar - a run and gun offense that relies heavily on the outside shot and open jumper to keep the scoring going. Drew Ferry knocked down 5 three-pointers alone, pushing the White Team to an early lead and setting the pace for the day. In fact most of the players in today's matchup went up for the long-range bomb at some point during the scrimmage - including forwards Josh Figini and Manny Sahota. On defense, we're looking at a similar help-style man-to-man with some trapping in the corner as we've seen in years past. What we'll need to see is stepped up efforts on defense though to ensure that guarded players remain aggressively contained or covered so that they can't just dish off to the open man.

2. Inside Game: This was the most frustrating thing to watch in today's scrimmage, as the team missed layup after layup. On many more than one occasion, "big men" Josh Figini, Ned Tomic, and Dwight Tarwater closed in on the basket but failed to finish. The Red can't rely exclusively on the three and it'll take some practice to get the guys going up strong moving forward.

3. Chemistry: There's some element of teamwork readily apparent - the passing game has worked fairly well and Chris Wroblewski got several very good looks in to Josh Figini and Ned Tomic, but overall, the chemistry we've grown accustomed to in years past isn't quite there. An important consideration is that Wroblewski is the only veteran senior on the team who has seen four years of basketball at Cornell. We don't see a senior class this time around who entered the program together.

4. Fresh Faces: Some of the freshman do show some promise and hope for strong efforts early on. Ned Tomic stepped up on the inside, and Galal Cancer tried to "join the club" by working hard for his first three-point shot (missed, unfortunately). Tomic was the most notable today, however, and his ability to work from mid-range and in the paint showed through. Coming off his injury last year, Dominic Scelfo looked pretty good in his return and also managed to work things from the outside. At some point though, Coach Courtney will have to figure out how to leverage the height in his new freshman class.

5. Injury City: One big concern with today's scrimmage and how the season will run manifested itself today with several players sitting out and not participating on the teams - Freshman forwards Dave LaMore and Shonn Miller, Junior forward Erric Peck, and Senior guards Max Groebe and Anthony Gatlin were not involved in today's scrimmage. Peck and Groebe were key players on the team last year and without them the Red may struggle to pull together a really effective, aggressive lineup. The question is, can everyone be ready in time for the season?

The Big Red tip off for the regular season against St. Bonaventure on Friday, November 11 at 7pm, and open at home for the first time this year on Monday, November 14 at 7pm.

• Below is the full live transcript from Brian Delaney of ESPN Radio 1160 as he covered the Red-White Game:

Saturday October 22, 2011
11:11
Test
3:58
Good afternoon to the two or three people crazy enough to follow a live blog of Cornell's Red-White Scrimmage. Love having you here.
3:58
First, the important stuff. Sitting out today for various injury-related reasons: Errick Peck, Shonn Miller, Peter McMillan, Dave LaMore, Anthony Gatlin and Max Groebe. Mark Coury's on the bench, but that doesn't count.
3:59
Red team: Scelfo, D. Cherry, Asafo-Adjei, Gray, Matthews, Giddens, Chemerinski, Sahota.
White team: Ferry, Wroblewski, Cancer, J. Cherry, Figini, Tarwater, Tomic.
4:00
Certainly not doing a play by play of this thing, just observations. But if you have a question or a theme you'd like to discuss, submit it. We can free-wheel it a bit.
4:02
Comment From Touchdown
What is the mood of the team in general? Your last writeup sounded pessimistic.
4:02
Comment From Guest
what's coury up to these days?
4:03
Team looks like it's having fun. They certainly think they'll be better then all the outsiders think.
4:03
I'll try and find out with Coury. Guess here is he's putting that 4.3 GPA to good use.
4:06
Comment From Touchdown
So, what are your views on the "Harvard will go 14-0 and be an 11 seed" theme that's floating around?
4:08
I think the league's too tough for a 14-0 this year. 13-1ish. 11-12 seed possible depending on non-conference success.
4:08
Interesting that today we'll see Wroblewski/Ferry/Cancer on the White Team. Down the line, that could be the starting backcourt.
4:12
Comment From davidpeck
thanks for doing this. Couldn't make it to Newman today
4:13
No problem. Figure it's worth it even for 2-3. For those wondering Cornell lost to Brown in football 35-24. Soccer team scoreless with about 15 left in the first half over at Berman Field.
4:13
Mike Blaine is coaching Red Team. Marlon Sears coaching White Team. Advantage?
4:16
Starters being introduced. Probably just a minute or two away from the tip.
4:18
Looks like two 15:00 halves. New uniforms for CU by the way. Sleek. Players say they're much lighter, FWIW.
4:19
Figini-Wrobo-Ferry-Tarwater-Cancer vs. Sahota-Eitan-MAA-Matthews-Gray to start
4:22
Ferry hits a pair of 3's to get things going.
4:24
Two good penetrations by Galal Cancer, using his left hand. Figini loses the handle on the first dump, but Ferry knocks down another three on the second.
4:26
Cancer with a terrific wrap-around pass in traffic to Tarwater for two. W 11, R 3.
4:28
First time we get to see Dominic Scelfo. The soph. guard hits on his first shot attempt, a top-of-the-key 3.
4:32
White now leads 22-10. Ferry in a groove with 12 points.
4:33
Scelfo's shot is very smooth.
4:34
Comment From Touchdown
Anyone in the frontcourt playing well?
4:35
Tomic had two good finishes inside where he used his bulk to seal off a defender. Both teams missing lots of chippies. Giddens missed a 6 footer and a dunk, Eitan has a block. Figini missed a 3. Game's moving at a quick pace.
4:38
Cancer's a stud.
4:39
I realize that I write that 12 minutes and 38 seconds into the Red-White Scrimmage, but there it is. Sometimes it's obvious.
4:42
Wroblewski drives, draws and feeds Tarwater for a 10-foot baseline jumper and the foul. FT is good. White leads 40-21 at the half.
4:47
Comment From Guest
anyone standing out and looking like they put on some muscle lbs this offseason?
4:48
Eitan and Josh are both noticeably bigger. But they're still probably in that 220 range, where already Tomic and LaMore are 240ish
4:49
Comment From Touchdown
Are we to assume that Dwight is looking like one of the better players?
4:49
Comment From davidpeck
happened to see Figini not long ago. He'd certainly put on some muscle. cornellbidred.com still lists him at 205 though. Needs an update
4:50
Coaches are very high on Tarwater. He's physical, his shot got better and actually saw him throw down a two-handed tip dunk in practice the other day, in traffic. Impressive.
4:51
Comment From davidpeck
glad Dwight & Dominic are healthy but we'll miss those stylish bow ties on the sidelines
4:51
Just saw two sides of Giddens on successive defensive possessions. Came from behind to block Tomic on a putback attempt. Great length. Next series, Tomic outmuscled Giddens for an o-board and putback.
4:52
White leads 48-30, 11:59 left.
4:54
Also should add that Gatlin added muscle too.
4:57
Comment From Steven Glansberg
Sounds like a blowout- how is the crowd? Do you have any overall stats like pts rebounds etc?
4:57
Comment From Touchdown
Can we count on Gatlin or Groebe to be regulars this season though? They're always sick.
4:57
Comment From Steven Glansberg
Tomic didnt get a lot of hype in the preseason and recruiting, can you see him get some minutes?
4:59
SG ... No stats. It's a rout. Ferry/Cancer/Wroblewski too much. ... Tomic, may be in spots. A fast paced game may not suit him, and I need to see more of him defensively. But he uses his body well inside.
Touchdown ... Yes. Gonna be a few weeks.
5:01
Wroblewski looks so much more comfortable playing occasionally off ball. Catch-and-shoot 3 puts White's lead at 61-33.
5:02
Comment From Touchdown
Is ANYbody on the Red team looking decent?
5:10
Scelfo has been solid. MAA steady in distribution and defense.
5:11
Battery ran out on the computer ... got it charging again. 71-39 White, 1:22 left.
5:13
Comment From Steven Glansberg
How does Eitan look in the post?
5:14
tough to tell, apart from he's active and he hustles. It's been such a guard oriented game, almost impossible to judge him on back to the basket stuff. Mostly high ball screens and rolls, lots of 3's.
5:14
Final score White 76-41. Thanks for following everybody ... have a great rest of the weekend.

• Check out The Cornell Basketball Blog's updated profiles of Cornell's four committed recruits from the classes of 2012 and 2013, Braxston Bunce (Kelowna Secondary School) Kelowna, BC, Canada, 6-11, Holt Harmon (Plano West HS), Plano, TX, 6-9, F; Nolan Cressler (Plum HS) Plum, PA, 6-4, G (class of 2012); and Tim Higgins (Paul VI HS) Fairfax, VA, 6-10, C (class of 2013). In addition, a listing of the Ivy League's committed recruits in the class of 2012 is available by clicking here.

• Cornell will have at least three games televised during the 2011-2012 season including, at Maryland (ESPN3), at Illinois (ESPN3) and at Penn State (Big Ten Network). Time Warner Cable, VerizonFios1, and Comcast Sports are among other networks that may also pick up Cornell games against Ivy League opponents such as Columbia, Princeton and Penn.

• Check out The Cornell Basketball Blog's Season Preview Index for a listing of 2011-2012 Cornell and Ivy League basketball season previews.

• If you have not had the opportunity to check it out yet, take a look at the exclusive Inside Tour of Cornell Basketball. The tour video was produced by the staff of Slope Media with background music performed by Cornell alumnus, Alex Kresovich. The background song, "The Return" is the main theme song for the 2012 version of the video game, NBA2K. Also a must see-- check out the three-year combined highlight video package produced by Slope Media from the '08-'09, '09-'10 and '10-'11 Big Red seasons.

• Below is an updated directory listing of some Twitter feeds associated with the Cornell basketball program. You can also follow The Cornell Basketball Blog on Twitter.

-Josh Wexler ('88)
-Steve Cobb ('05)
-Ryan Rourke ('06)
-Andrew Naeve ('07)
-Jason Canady ('08)
-Khaliq Gant ('09)
-Conor Mullen ('09)
-Ryan Wittman ('10)
-Pete Reynolds ('10)
-Jon Jaques ('10)
-Louis Dale ('10)
-Alex Tyler ('10)
-Geoff Reeves ('10)
-Jeff Foote ('10)
-Andre Wilkins ('10) (inactive)
-Aaron Osgood ('11)
-Adam Wire ('11)
-The Cornell Rebounders Club
-Max Groebe ()
-Andrew Ferry ()
-Peter McMillan ()
-Errick Peck ()
-Josh Figini ()
-Galal Cancer ()
-Ned Tomic ()
-Dominick Scelfo ()
-Jake Mathews ()
-Dwight Tarwater ()
-Manny Sahota ()
-Dave LaMore ()
-Shonn Miller ()
-Devin Cherry ()
-Nolan Cressler (committed recruit)
-Braxston Bunce (committed recruit)
-Holt Harmon (committed recruit)
-Tim Higgins (committed recruit)
-Assistant Coach Mike Blaine ()
-Assistant Coach Marlon Sears ()
-Assistant Coach Arlen Galloway ()
-Brian Delaney, WPIE/ESPN Radio Ithaca ()
-Cornell Daily Sun Sports ()
-Slope Sports ()
-WVBR Sports ()
-Former assistant coach, Jay Larranaga ()
-Former head coach, Steve Donahue ()
-Former assistant coach, Nat Graham ()
-Former assistant coach, Woody Kampmann ()
-Former Assistant Coach Ricky Yahn ()
-Former Intern Assistant Ryan Woerner ()

• Throughout the year we provide periodic updates on Cornell's alumni playing professionally. Below, some updates:
  

-Jeff Aubry ('99) (Halcones Rojos, LNBP Mexico premier league/Arecibo Capitanes, BSN Puerto Rico premier league)-As of October 24, Aubry is averaging 4.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Halcones is 13-2 (1st place out of 14 teams in the Mexican LNBP). Aubry, a 6'11" center, splits his time in both the Mexican and Puerto Rican professional leagues. He is also a member of Puerto Rico's national team joining several NBA stars and is expected to compete with the team in 2012 Olympic qualifying. A well traveled pro player, Aubry spent several seasons in the NBA D League in the early part of his career with the Fayetteville Patriots and Florida Flame and earned honorable mention all D-League in 2002. During his more than a decade of pro experience, Aubry has also played professionally in the ABA (Miami Tropics) and abroad in Puerto Rico (Arecibo, Leones de Ponce, and Santurce, BSN Puerto Rico), Spain (Tarragona, LEB Gold Spain 2nd Division), Mexico (Halcones Rojos and Chihuahua Dorados, LNBP Mexico premier league), Poland (Slask Wroclaw, PLK Poland premier league), Argentina (Libertad Sunchales, Liga A Argentina), Uruguay (Hebraica, LUB Uruguay )and Peru (Alas Peruanas, Peru).

-Cody Toppert ('05) (Ourense, LEB Silver Spain 3rd Division)-As of October 24, Toppert is averaging 6.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. On October 23, Toppert finished with 2 points and 3 rebouds as Ourense fell 81-75 to Gandia. Ourense is 2-1 (2nd place out of 13 teams in the Spanish LEB Silver). Like Aubry, Toppert, a 6'4" guard, is a veteran of the NBA D League, a former Albuquerque Thunderbird. During his pro career, Toppert has also played in England (Plymouth Raiders, British Basketball League), Italy (Forli, LegaDue Italy 2nd division), the CBA (Great Falls Explorers), as well as in Portugal (Barriernese, LCB Portugal premier league), Germany (Goettingen, BBK Bundesliga Germany premier league) and New Zealand (Taranaki Mountain Airs, NBL New Zealand premier league).

-Jason Hartford ('08) (Unsigned)-As of October 24, Hartford is unsigned for the 2011-2012 season. He was cut during the week of October 17 by Cader Rocha, LUB Uruguay premier league and is now a free agent. He was averaging 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, second on the team in both categories. The 6'9" Hartford previously played professionally in Portugal (Ginasio, LCB Portugal premier league), Finland (Huima, Korisliiga Finland premier league) and Mozambique (Maxaquene, D1 Mozambique premier league).

-Louis Dale ('10) (Goettingen, BBK Bundesliga Germany premier league)-As of October 24, Dale is averaging 13.8 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game. On October 22, Goettingen fell to Trier 71-60 despite Dale's 13 points and 5 rebounds. Goettingen is 1-4 on season (16th place out of 18 teams in the German BBK). Dale is in his second professional season, both seasons in Germany with Goettingen.

-Ryan Wittman ('10) (Unsigned)-As of October 24, Wittman is unsigned for the 2011-2012 season. He played the 2010-2011 season in Italy (Forli, LegaDue Italy 2nd division) and in the United States (Fort Wayne Mad Ants, NBA D-League).

-Jeff Foote ('10) (Unsigned)-As of October 24, Foote is unsigned for the 2011-2012 season. He played the 2010-2011 season in Spain (Melilla, LEB Gold Spain 2nd division) while on loan from Euro League powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel.

-Adam Wire ('11) (Vaerlose, Denmark BBK premier league)-As of October 24, Wire is averaging 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. On October 22, in a 75-65 defeat to Svendborg, he finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Vaerlose is 2-5 (9th place out of 10 teams in the Danish BBK). The 2011-2012 season is his rookie year.

-Aaron Osgood ('11) (Vaerlose, Denmark BBK premier league)-As of October 24, Osgood is averaging 11.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. On October 22, in a 75-65 defeat to Svendborg, he finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Vaerlose is 2-5 (9th place out of 10 teams in the Danish BBK). The 2011-2012 season is his rookie year.

Visit The Cornell Basketball Blog's Community Forum and Message Board to interact with other fans of Cornell and Ivy League basketball. Membership is free! You may also follow us on Twitter.

Blueprint for Success, the yearbook commemorating Cornell's memorable 2009-2010 season is now on sale and available for delivery. Visit the Cornell Athletics website to order your copy today! Or pick up a copy sold in the Cornell Store on campus.

Fans of the basketball program in the Ithaca area should not miss the opportunity to join the Cornell Rebounders Club.

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Increase In U.S. Sales,

increase in U.S. sales,

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